Illinois Budget 11.26.08

Wednesday

Nov 26, 2008 at 12:01 AMNov 26, 2008 at 11:51 PM

Illinois Budget 11.26.08

Here are the top Illinois stories coming today from GateHouse News Service. Stories are available at www.gatehousenewsservice.com. Please check www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/news in the evening for changes to story lineup, including breaking news.

If your paper has a story, digest item, opinion piece or standalone photo to share, please e-mail it to Illinois@gatehousemedia.com.

Some GateHouse News Service products, including the weekly lifestyle and sports pages, as well as themed and holiday pages, are being redesigned. The redesign will improve the typography and make style sheets associated with GHNS pages more universal. This change also will aid papers that have been redesigned by the News Division.

GateHouse Niche Division publications also will use a new font set, but the design style will remain. These publications include the Family, Bride, Boomers and Healthy Living magazines, as well as other seasonal publications.

The new style and fonts debut with new pages ready for download the week of Dec. 8. A new font set will be available for download with each redesigned page. Earlier pages will retain links to fonts used on those pages.

If you have questions about the fonts, contact Joe Greco, corporate design director, at jgreco@gatehousemedia.com.

GATEHOUSE NEWSROOM

Jean Hodges: See what holiday content GateHouse News Service has planned.
http://www.ghnewsroom.com/blogs.php?bid=262

BEST OF GATEHOUSE 2008: Submissions are currently being sought for the Best of GateHouse 2008 editorial awards. See more details at:
http://www.ghnewsroom.com/news.php?newsid=1227275043

TODAY’S SPOTLIGHT

Thinking beyond turkey for Thanksgiving dinner

PEORIA -- Nick Visione's loved ones expect the unexpected on Thanksgiving. While most people's traditions include the likes of turkey or ham with all the trimmings, Visione is among many central Illinoisans who add a unique twist to holiday cooking. "The kids call it land, sea and air," Visione said. "We try to have something that walks, something that swims and something that flies." By Ryan Ori of the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/features/x1772964018

STATE BRIEFS: News from around the state. POSTED.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1720670465

BUDGET CUTS: State budget cuts will put 85 state workers out of a job Sunday, the Blagojevich administration confirmed Wednesday. By Ryan Keith of the State Capitol bureau. UPDATED.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x776462263

Guard members home for Thanksgiving

PEORIA – Some 24 members of the Illinois Air National Guard’s 182nd Airlift Wing have arrived home from Afghanistan after spending two months running “beans and bullets” to troops stationed around the country. By Andy Kravetz of the Peoria Journal Star. With video.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x541367848

ILLINOIS BUSINESS
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois_business

Independent stores hope to catch the last wave of shoppers

ROCKFORD – Unlike the bleary-eyed salespeople who will man the big-box retailers Black Friday, owners and employees of independent stores plan to be well-rested and ready for the rush of holiday shoppers. That’s because most small-business owners don’t participate in the 4 a.m., door-busting deals that are offered at Wal-Mart, Best Buy and the like. At most they’ll open an hour early and stay open a bit later, but their crowds tend to come after shoppers have done the early-morning deals and are in their second wind. By Sean F. Driscoll of the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x776461516

Stores guard against theft as economy slumps

ROCKFORD – For retailers, a foundering economy can mean trouble — when fewer people are working and consumers are reluctant to spend, stores keep a close eye on their inventory. But even as a slumping economy raises fears of increased property crimes, like shoplifting, during the holiday season, Target Corp. spokeswoman Erika Svingen said her company has more pressing security issues – organized retail crime.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x776461513

Holiday drivers thankful for lower gas prices

PEORIA – Drive, baby, drive. Time to leave the hybrid at home and fire up the HEMI-powered gas-guzzler for the trip to grandma's house this holiday weekend? By Scott Hilyard of the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x541367633

More homeowners longing to sell short

ROCKFORD – Short sell is the latest buzzword for selling a home for less than what is owed the lender. “It’s an option for people who are trying to avoid foreclosure but can’t stay in a home,” said Bob Campbell, executive director of the Rockford Area Affordable Housing Coalition. “If they don’t have any equity built up in the house and they’ve suffered a job loss, divorce ... it gives them an option to move on without a foreclosure on their credit report.” By Chris Green of the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x776461526

ROCKFORD – John and Linda Underwood have seen poverty close-up in the 10 years they’ve provided free medical clinics in Haiti. But when the doctor and nurse arrived to the third-world country in November, they were struck by the overwhelming damage caused by summertime hurricanes. By Elizabeth Davies of the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1772964012

Plasma donor center sees steady traffic

ROCKFORD – The newly opened Talecris Plasma Donor Center has seen more than 800 donors since opening its doors last month, and officials expect traffic to remain steady during the holiday season. The center’s medical director said plasma donation offers people an altruistic way to make some extra cash. By Melissa Westphal of the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x541367799

Kathryn Rem: Fannie May returns to Springfield

When Barbara Guilden heard that a Fannie May candy store had opened in Springfield — more than four years after the last two closed — the Decatur woman traveled here to pick up some vanilla buttercreams and Pixies. “I’ve been a fan of Fannie May since Mrs. O’Leary’s cow started the fire,” joked Guilden, 52, who lived in Chicago as a child. “This is the candy I grew up with.” Edward Fitzpatrick, vice president of retail operations for Fannie May, said the company is opening 11 Midwestern stores this year. The new locations include Springfield and Bloomington-Normal.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x776461750

BRITT: Toon on things to be thankful for. POSTED.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/opinions/cartoons/x541368419

Dave Bakke: Injuries won’t stop Thanksgiving dinner

It seems as though if someone were going to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for someone who needs it in Waverly, the dinner would be made for Mayor Ernie Cleveland. Ernie was seriously hurt this fall in a harvesting accident. His legs were crushed when he was pinned between a wall and a John Deere tractor. He is temporarily in a wheelchair, unable to stand per doctor’s orders, while he recovers. But Ernie is spunky, you have to give him that. That is why it is the other way around. Ernie and his wife, Marcia, are making Thanksgiving dinner for Waverly.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1196578875

Phil Luciano: Freed man gives thanks for Innocence Project

On Thanksgiving, Bill Dillon will give thanks to God and Melissa Montle. Without both, the Florida man says he'd be spending the holiday behind bars for a murder he did not commit. He cites divine aid for helping him survive nearly three decades behind bars. And he credits his freedom to Montle, a Peoria native and Bradley University grad now working for a legal-aid group in Florida.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x596320822

Editorial: College drinking lessons should be consequential

The early-morning ticketing of more than 60 Bradley University students Sunday - 39 of them athletes - at an off-campus party was a disappointing example of how few lessons have been learned by students in the last few years about the perils of underage drinking. It's also evidence of how far universities still have to go to change the culture of alcohol consumption on and around their campuses. An editorial from the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x776461448

MIKE NADEL: This time of year, we give thanks for our families, friends and freedom. In this little corner of the world, we also give thanks for the fools, felons and flops who complete the sports landscape and compete for Turkey of the Year. POSTED.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/sports/x1772964545

BACK HOME AGAIN: Illinois junior Dominique Keller, a junior-college transfer from Port Arthur, Texas, makes a return trip to his home state when the Illini play Friday against Kent State at the South Padre Invitational. Serves as Illinois-Kent State preview. With preview capsule. By John Supinie. Will be posted this evening for use Friday.

For Saturday:

GAME COVERAGE: Illinois vs. Kent State. Game coverage, report card. Also, short sidebar serving as Illini preview on Texas A&M/Tulsa. With capsule. Tipoff at 5 p.m. Gamer and report card moving by 9:15 p.m. Capsule and sidebar by 10:15 p.m. By John Supinie.

For Sunday:

GAME COVERAGE: Illinois vs. Texas A&M/Tulsa. Game coverage, report card. Time TBD. By John Supinie.

BEARS:

Matt Trowbridge of the Rockford Register Star will be writing a mainbar on the Bears. Will be posted this evening.